The monolithic integration photonic and electronic materials and devices having gallium arsenide (GaAs) with host substrates, such as silicon (Si), glass, or polymers, will enable the fabrication of the next generation of integrated circuits, particularly, integrated circuit "cubes" having massive three dimensional communication networks and optoelectronic integrated circuits. A standard technique for GaAs-on-Si integration is heteroeptiaxial growth, which is described in H. Choi J. Mattia, G. Turner, and B. Y. Tsauer, "Monolithic Integration of GaAs/AlGaAs LED and Si Driver Circuit", IEEE Electron Dev. Lett., vol. 9, pp. 512-514, 1988, incorporated herein by reference. However, the crystal quality of this heteroepitaxial material is not optimum and is often inadequate for many optical applications.
An integration method which seeks to preserve the high material quality of lattice-matched growth is the epitaxial lift-off technique developed by Bell Communications Research, Inc., ("Bellcore"), as described in E. Yablonovitch, T. J. Gmitter, J. P. Harbison, and R. Bhat, "Double Heterostructure GaAs/AlGaAs Thin Film Diode Lasers on Glass Substrates", IEEE Phot. Tech. Lett., 1, pp. 41-42, 1989, incorporated herein by reference. Essentially, a thin aluminum arsenide (AlAs) sacrificial layer is grown on a GaAs growth substrate, and then GaAs/AlGaAs epitaxial layers are grown on top of the AlAs layer. The GaAs/AlGaAs lattice-matched epitaxial layers are separated from the growth substrate by selectively etching away the AlAs sacrificial layer. The GaAs/AlGaAs epitaxial layers can then be bonded in a hybrid fashion onto a wide variety of remote host substrates. In general, the epitaxial layers lifted off and bonded using the Bellcore technique are of high quality and are currently being used for the integration of GaAs/AlGaAs materials onto host substrates, such as Si, glass, lithium niobate, and polymers.
Although the Bellcore epitaxial lift-off technique yields integration of high quality epitaxial material, use of the technique is problematic. When using the Bellcore epitaxial lift-off technique, there is an inability to align and selectively bond the thin film epitaxial layers. Further, the Bellcore epitaxial lift-off technique is directed toward continuous films, not discrete devices. Finally, the technique requires systematic flexing of the carrier layer, which can undesirably damage the thin film epitaxial layers.